Couple convicted of 2021 murder of Tokyo high school girl

Seems like a light sentence.

Woow....they planned to kill this girl, and just 23/18 years in prison?

It seems too short.

If I were the judge, would sentence to at least 40 years to the man. Not sure about the sentence to his wife.

No mention of a motive?

This means that these couple would be released when they are about 50 yrs old. Life sentence would have been appropriate.

A lawyer representing the girl's parents said at a press conference following the ruling that her life had been "treated too lightly."

Prosecutors had sought 25- and 22-year prison sentences for Komori and his wife, respectively.

The father of the victim, who had been allowed to make a statement earlier in court and had requested the death penalty, was present in the courtroom Tuesday and shouted out that the sentence was "too light" immediately after it was delivered.

They're right.

I agree with pretty much everyone above. They should have gotten life

They both should have received life in prison or at least sent to the bottom of the sea.

Every parent s worst nightmare!

Should b death penalty for him and life without parole for her!

In a case like this the death penalty should have been handed. This sentence is sending the wrong message to so many mentally distorted psychos out there.

I don't know how would this judge explain this sentence to the girls parents, relatives best friends if he ever meets them?? How sick and SAD.

Mark

In a case like this the death penalty should have been handed. This sentence is sending the wrong message to so many mentally distorted psychos out there.

You are so right! Many people see the light and dare I say "borderline friendly" treament of dangerous criminals! They brandish them all over the media like superstars! The Abe assassin was all over the newspapers, TV, internet (social media), the sarin gas cultist dude had interviers while sitting on a cushion and just chillin'. People would see that and be like "I want that type of attention! I'll get a light sentence, maybe even a suspended one!"

*The court sentenced Shohei Komori and his wife Izumi to 23 and 18 years in prison, respectively, for the abduction and murder of the Tokyo girl, who was strangled with a rope and stabbed several times in the back with a knife at a storage shed.*

*The court found their acts "brutal and well-planned." Presiding Judge Takenobu Someya said Shohei Komori had developed an obsession with the girl, whom he met on social media, and killed her out of fear of police finding out that he had abducted her.*

And, yet, they only sentenced him to 25 years in prison? These light sentences in Japan are just nuts. It's like they're worried about the prison budget or something. It never make any sense.

I can understand a an avoidance of death sentences. But, this crime certainly deserves a life sentence. And, the wife should receive at least 50 years.

there is capital punishment in Japan. If there’s one case to apply it, it’s this case. This couple is inhuman. They should have gotten dead penalty. I wonder if japan is only applying dead sentence and life time jail for political prisoners. Serious psychopath murderers seem to be getting extremely light sentences.

Given the malicious nature of it, yeah this is light. We’ve seen the courts here give death penalty for cases with basically no evidence other than assumption but there is clear torture and violence here…

It’s good to see these whackos get serious jail terms. Young Japanese girls have got to stop being so gullible and meeting strangers through social media and dating sites. This scenario repeats itself way too often in Japan, sadly.

They didnt deserve 'Life'................They both deserved 'DEATH' !!

I am sad to imagine they may be repeat offenders, or worse. It did not happen by chance or for independent reasons, they willingly and atrociously killed a person.

Lindsay - It’s good to see these whackos get serious jail terms. 

Which whackos would that be? I ask because these whackos got far from serious jail terms, not at all commensurate with the seriousness of their crimes.

The court found their acts "brutal and well-planned." Presiding Judge Takenobu Someya said Shohei Komori had developed an obsession with the girl, whom he met on social media, and killed her out of fear of police finding out that he had abducted her

Strange the way people's minds work. He didn't want the police to find out that he had abducted her so he kills her. I guess he figured they wouldn't find out that he had killed her because..? "I'm not good at evading the police when I abduct someone but I am extremely good at hiding the fact that I killed a person."

It IS too light, but it's a heck of a lot better than the usual sentences. My only problem is that the wife gets less when she should get the same. It's amazing how the courts and people will bend over backwards to stick to the belief that the "lesser sex" aren't quite as capable of malicious acts as their counterparts, and that it must have been some kind of brainwashing or "dependence disorder", etc.

Some evil people deserve the death penalty rather than years behind bars which cost tax payers a lot!

@Jim: Some evil people deserve the death penalty rather than years behind bars which cost tax payers a lot!

It's a different country, so the numbers won't be accurate, but this is information you may not have:

"The study counted death penalty case costs through to execution and found that the median death penalty case costs $1.26 million. Non-death penalty cases were counted through to the end of incarceration and were found to have a median cost of $740,000."

https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/76th2011/ExhibitDocument/OpenExhibitDocument?exhibitId=17686&fileDownloadName=h041211ab501_pescetta.pdf

If I had the power to judge people, I'd subtract the years in life they stole from the victim (about 50~60 years considering average life expectancy) and make it their sentence.

Plus, all the money she would earn on her lifetime (average) and make it as a fine they'd obligatorily would have to pay the victim's family through working in prison.

Jim - Some evil people deserve the death penalty rather than years behind bars which cost tax payers a lot!

One could argue that they receive more punishment by spending the rest of their lives in prison, than to be put out of their misery sooner.

After all, there's very likely no eternal hell in the afterlife. (Or, even an afterlife.) But, there certainly can be a Hell on Earth that one can experience while still alive. And, life in prison can certainly be considered Hell on Earth.

Hang ‘em High

Monsters. They should swing.

I would like to see these departed beasts spend a life term in prison for this crime that defies belief to moral folk.

I’m against the death penalty you see, it is beastly and barbaric. Mistakes are made and poor innocent people have undergone state sanctioned murder. Also, the state could make the death penalty applicable for less serious crimes if a wicked government come into power.

I wonder if the sentences would have been the same if that poor girl was the judges daughter?

Aly RustomJune 21  08:06 am JST

A lawyer representing the girl's parents said at a press conference following the ruling that her life had been "treated too lightly."

Prosecutors had sought 25- and 22-year prison sentences for Komori and his wife, respectively.

The father of the victim, who had been allowed to make a statement earlier in court and had requested the death penalty, was present in the courtroom Tuesday and shouted out that the sentence was "too light" immediately after it was delivered.

They're right.

I agree with pretty much everyone above. They should have gotten life

The sentence is way too light. When they get released, are they going to do it again?

Give them life! No parole.

They both should get life in prison